1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information distributing system, connected to a variety of database systems, for distributing information fetched out of database thereof to users.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of information distributing system has hitherto been constructed to automatically fetch, if a user writes to his or her own profile a condition for fetching the information the user himself or herself requires, updated information out of the variety of databases and distribute only the information accordant with the profile to the user concerned. In the information distributing system in a simple form, the profile involves the use of a condition based on a combination of keywords, and only the information meeting with this condition is to be distributed. Accordingly, if the condition set by the user is improper, the user can not necessarily obtain the information desired by the user himself or herself.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 4-65743 discloses an information selective receiving system as the same type of system. This system is contrived so that a condition of the information to be received is set in a text filter, and only the information meeting with this condition is transferred to a receiving unit. Similarly, in an article/advertisement distributing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-143653, only the information containing a keyword stored in an individual keyword memory device is distributed. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-16677 discloses an apparatus for retrieving the database, wherein know-how of other person serves as a keyword.
On the other hand, there can be considered several forms such as automatically extending the profile in accordance with a content in which the user has an interest, and distributing the information accordant with the thus extended profile. To start with, a plurality of texts written by the user are used as a profile, the keywords contained in these texts are compared with keywords in newly fetched texts, and only the texts sufficiently accordant therewith are distributed. In this form, the content of the profile is more enriched as a quantity of the texts created by the user increases, and can be, it follows, used as a more detailed condition. What can be considered as another form is that the user evaluates the texts distributed and modifies the condition of the profile in accordance with a result of the evaluation. In this form, the condition of the profile is getting approximate to a content intended by the user, thereby gradually coming to such a state that only the information according to the intention of the user is distributed. Still another thinkable form is that the user utilizes the keywords set in the profile by developing them into synonyms etc. In this form, even if the keywords definitely designated by the user are not contained therein, the texts are to be distributed, if words having implications close thereto are contained.
A problem inherent in the prior art is that the information required by the user is not distributed unless clearly described in the keywords and the profile. The reason for this is that the system distributes the texts to the user on the basis of only the keywords and the condition of the profile. Therefore, the user must update the keywords and the profile so as to clearly express his or her own request at all times. However, much knowledge is required for properly setting them, which might be difficult for the ordinary users to do so. Further, there is such a problem that the detail setting is time-consuming.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an information distributing system for distributing the information on the basis of an activity hysteresis of the information distributed in the past.